Host: Sheryl Glick R.M.T.
Special Guest: Pat Gesualdo (http://dadprogram.org/)

In today’s episode of Healing From Within, your host, Sheryl Glick author of The Living Spirit: Answers for Healing and Infinite Love shares intimate stories of healing and love, spiritual awakenings, spiritual communication, miracles and ways to go within to find your true self. Sheryl welcomes Pat Gesualdo, author of Drum Therapy who pioneered the holistic healing art of the Drum Therapy program which is used by psychologists neuroscientists behavioral therapists and Special Education teachers in over 15 countries to help children with special needs develop physical and cognitive functioning.

Pat will shed light on the growing problem of Autism and show how for people with autism and cognitive disabilities, the synapses in the brain ineffectively communicate with each other. He will show how by playing repeated patterns of music you can retrain these synapses and help these people re-establish the correct synapse pathways.

Pat fought a battle with Dyslexia as a child. Growing up in a small town in Avenel, New Jersey doctors told Pat’s parents that he would never be able to do things that most kids do and would not be able to attend college. As a result of having dyslexia he would spend time alone and play the rhythms and patterns backwards on his drum. This devotion to the drums encouraged Pat to find new sounds and tones and develop techniques that worked for him. What he later realized was that the drumming methods he developed when he was younger retrained the synapses. By high school graduation, Pat had beat Dyslexia one hundred percent.

Sheryl relates to Pat that in her last year of teaching she was assigned to a Special Needs class of students ranging in age from 12 to 16 and wished she would have been able to use this drum therapy to help them. Sheryl did however discover that most of her students were very artistic and while reading and learning in traditional ways was nearly impossible. Sheryl built on this natural ability and instilled self-esteem and confidence and by engaging them in their own uniqueness they began to do somewhat better in other subjects. In actuality they learned to appreciate themselves each other and life.

Drums and Disabilities known as D.A.D. is proud to serve the special needs population, and help anyway we can. We are always available to advise on issues concerning disability discrimination, and special education concerns, and other issues where disabled children and adults face abuse and neglect.

Pat writes, “The organization provides Drum Therapy programs to schools, health facilities, and community centers in over 15 countries, to help special needs population develop physical and cognitive function. In addition, we advocate for those special needs children and adults who experience discrimination and abuse, and help parents develop special education school curriculums for their children.

It’s all about the special needs children and adults. I was one of them. I know the difficulties these children and their families go on a constant basis. Without the love and support of my family, and a very few special teachers, who knows where I would be today. I am extremely grateful to return what I was so fortunate to have received. The D.A.D. program is a tribute to all those that have helped me in the past. It is also a tribute for all the little boys and girls, adults, and wounded soldiers, who fight the never ending battle with a disability. With your help, we can make the world a better place for all of them.”

Governor Christie signed groundbreaking disability legislation into law May 2014 which was written by Pat. Pat’s new law helps further protect disabled children and adults. New Jersey is the first State to add such additional protection to the disabled population. In an extremely rare bipartisan effort, Pat’s legislation passed the Senate 34-0 and the Assembly 74-0.